Creating Connection: How TikTok Promotes Mental Wellness
TikTok works to foster a safe space for people to connect with a global community and share their unique personal stories about mental health. As the social media platform TikTok continues its exponential growth, many people have begun to question its potential impacts on society — particularly surrounding mental health. According to a first-of-its-kind study from University of Minnesota computer science researchers, the social media platform and its unique algorithm can serve as both a haven and a hindrance for users struggling with their mental health. In this article, we will dig more about how TikTok promotes mental wellness.
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What is Mental Wellness?
The World Health Organization provides a mental wellness definition: “A state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.” Notice how this definition says nothing about happiness. It’s also not defined as the absence of mental illness. Rather, mental wellness means you are able to adequately cope with the stresses life throws at you, whether that be as simple as a work project or as complicated as a breakup.
What can TikTok Mental Health Videos Do For You?
Education
One of the main benefits of talking about mental health on TikTok is that users are exposed to people with different conditions, this helps people learn terminology, and when they find other people with their own issues, they can start a dialogue about their symptoms
Validation
Those who may be feeling alone in their struggles often can find the validation they need through TikTok. It can help you have a space where everyone who has mental health condition feel that there's somewhere they belong.
Community
Connection with those who are experiencing the same way as yours is important, this community will help you with all the things that is bothering you, they are also the ones which will help you cope up.
Top 5 Mental Health Influencers on TikTok
1. Dr. Julie Smith
Dr. Julie Smith is one of the foremost influencers in the mental health space. She is an author and a qualified psychologist, Julie’s approach to explaining mental health is distinctive for its use of props. Balloons being held underwater represent our suppressed emotions, filtered colored glass cubes show how different perspectives can dominate, and an overflowing paper bin is a symbol of cumulative trauma.
2. Sanam Naram
Sanam is a counseling psychologist and founder of Conscious Psychology, a practice based out of Johannesburg, South Africa. Sanam covers two topics, first is signs and coping mechanisms for a range of issues and conditions, second is an authentic exploration of what it’s like to be a psychologist.
3. Matthias Barker
Matthias is a professional psychotherapist and co-founder of the Trauma Institute, which provides clinical training and public information. His videos are professionally lit, intimate messages that are often carefully crafted like a therapy session in miniature.
4. Lindsay Fleming
Licensed therapist Lindsay Fleming does more than help her clients manage anxiety and depression; she raises awareness about mental illness on a broader level. Many of Fleming’s videos break down stereotypes about seeking help for mental illness.
5. Shani Tran
Shani Tran is a licensed professional clinical counselor who develops culturally inclusive mental health resources. She uses the platform to make therapists seem more relatable.
3 Easy Steps to make your contents using Shortspilot.ai
1. Click "Create New Series".
2. Connect your social media channel and choose one of many niches from the drop down, select your preferred voice and language then click on "create", wait for less than a minute and your video is ready!
3. Adjust the script or the title as needed and click on update, then post video and it will automatically be posted on your preferred social media platform.